Wheelchair Accessible House Plans

Wheelchair Accessible House Plans

Wheelchair accessible house plans take the special needs of the physically disabled into consideration to grant an unprecedented level of freedom and mobility throughout the space. After all, living with a disability presents many challenges, and navigating the home shouldn’t be one of them. It all begins by opening up the main living area in the floor plan, removing unnecessary boundaries, and allowing residents access to every section of the home plan. Either in the existing plan itself or with modifications by the designer or your builder, features such as extra-wide hallways and expanded doorways in the floor plan help accommodate the extra space needed for a wheelchair, enhancing mobility and independence. These features may also be called universal design.

The kitchens in wheelchair accessible house plans may also receive special attention to remove common obstructions and inconvenience. By lowering the counters, rounding out corners, and removing walls, everyone can enjoy the space comfortably and without complication. In most cases, the home plans are single story to ensure that residents can get to each room in the house. However, some wheelchair accessible house plans feature multiple stories, placing additional bedrooms upstairs to make more space for the living areas. Working with your contractor, these homes can also include sturdy grab bars in key areas to offer reliable support for all types of movement. Multiple-story wheelchair-accessible house plans may also offer lifts to allow the disabled to travel up the stairs independently.

Other tenets of wheelchair-accessible homes are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant bathrooms that feature wide, open spaces to allow wheelchairs to enter and move about with ease. They also include special shower configurations that feature roll-in floors, seats, and lower showerheads. The balance of the floor plan in wheelchair-accessible floor plan includes non-slip floors that allow wheelchairs to gain traction without getting caught on carpets or damaging the ground. Another common characteristic of wheelchair-accessible home plans is a ramp leading up to the front door. Some home plans feature a single permanent ramp, while others incorporate both ramps and stairs at each entrance.